Packet forwarding method, UPF selection method, electronic device, and storage medium

Abstract

The present application provides a packet forwarding method, a user plane function (UPF) selection method, an electronic device, and a storage medium. The packet forwarding method comprises: sending a first message to an evolved packet data gateway (ePDG) (S110), wherein the first message carries a communication capability identifier of a UE, and the communication capability identifier is used for determining that the UE supports control plane and media plane separation; receiving a second message sent by the ePDG (S120), wherein the second message carries address information and a security parameter index (SPI) corresponding to a target UPF, and the target UPF supports control plane and media plane separation; generating a first target packet on the basis of the SPI of the target UPF (S130); and directly forwarding the first target packet to the target UPF on the basis of the address information of the target UPF (S140).

Description

Message forwarding method, UPF selection method, electronic device and storage medium

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application is based on and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411158477.2, filed on August 22, 2024, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference into this application. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a message forwarding method, a UPF selection method, an electronic device and a storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0004] Under the 5G architecture, message communication transmission usually involves the following steps: after a user equipment (UE) device initiates a message communication request, a session management function (SMF) device confirms a user plane function (UPF) device that matches the message communication; the UE device sends message information to an evolved packet data gateway (ePDG) device; the ePDG device forwards the message information to the UPF device for further message information forwarding; and the message information is forwarded to a target receiving end. However, this message forwarding method makes the ePDG device, as an intermediate device, bear a large amount of information transmission. When the amount of information increases, the network information transmission delay is high due to the limitation of the ePDG device itself. SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a message forwarding method, a UPF selection method, an electronic device and a storage medium.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a message forwarding method. The method is applied to a user equipment (UE), and the method comprises the following steps: sending a first message to an evolved packet data gateway (ePDG), wherein the first message carries a communication capability identifier of the UE, and the communication capability identifier is used to represent that the UE supports control plane and media plane separation; receiving a second message sent by the ePDG, wherein the second message carries address information of a target user plane function (UPF) and a security parameter index (SPI), and the target UPF supports control plane and media plane separation; generating a first target message according to the SPI of the target UPF; and forwarding the first target message to the target UPF directly based on the address information of the target UPF.

[0007] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a message forwarding method. The method is applied to a UPF, and the method comprises the following steps: receiving a third message sent by a session management function (SMF), wherein the third message carries address information of a UE, an SPI, and a direct forwarding identifier, the direct forwarding identifier is generated according to a communication capability identifier of the UE, and the communication capability identifier represents that the UE supports control plane and media plane separation; generating a second target message according to the SPI of the UE; and forwarding the second target message to the UE directly according to the direct forwarding identifier and the address information of the UE.

[0008] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for selecting a UPF. The method is applied to an SMF, and the method comprises the following steps: receiving a fifth message sent by an ePDG, wherein the fifth message carries address information of a UE and a direct forwarding identifier, the direct forwarding identifier is generated according to a communication capability identifier of the UE, and the communication capability identifier represents that the UE supports control plane and media plane separation; determining a target UPF that supports control plane and media plane separation according to the direct forwarding identifier, and sending a third message to the target UPF, wherein the third message carries the address information of the UE, an SPI, and the direct forwarding identifier, the SPI of the UE is used to generate a second target message, and the direct forwarding identifier is used to instruct the target UPF to forward the second target message to the UE directly according to the address information of the UE.

[0009] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory configured to store at least one program; and at least one program, when executed by the at least one processor, implements the message forwarding method in the first aspect, or the message forwarding method in the second aspect, or the method for selecting a UPF in the third aspect.

[0010] In a fifth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program. The program is executed by a processor to implement the packet forwarding method in the first aspect, or the packet forwarding method in the second aspect, or the UPF selecting method in the third aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a 5G system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process in which a UE1 accesses a packet communication network according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0013] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process in which a UE2 accesses a packet communication network according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0014] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a process in which a UE1 and a UE2 have a real-time conversation according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0015] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a packet forwarding method applied to a UE according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0016] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a data structure of a communication capability identifier according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0017] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a data structure of a direct forwarding identifier and a SPI of a UE according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0018] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a UPF selecting method applied to an SMF according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0019] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a packet forwarding method applied to a UPF according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0020] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a packet forwarding method applied to a UPF according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0021] FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a packet information forwarding method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0022] FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a packet forwarding method in which a UE responds to a handover AP according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0023] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, further detailed description will be given to the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application, and are not used to limit the present application.

[0025] The 5G system architecture is defined to support data connectivity and services, enabling deployments to use technologies such as Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN).

[0026] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a 5G system. As shown in Figure 1, in the 5G system architecture, there are a plurality of interconnected functional modules. Among them, the network functions (NFs) related to the session management function (SMF) include: access and mobility management function (AMF), unified data management (UDM), policy control function (PCF), user plane function (UPF), evolved packet data gateway (ePDG).

[0027] Among them, the AMF is the termination point of the non-access stratum (NAS) signaling interface (N1) and the radio access network (RAN) signaling interface (N2); it is responsible for the encryption and integrity protection of NAS messages, responsible for registration, access, mobility, authentication, and short message transmission functions. In addition, when interacting with the evolved packet system (EPS) network, the AMF is also responsible for the allocation of the evolved packet system bearer identifier (Eps Bearer Id).

[0028] The UDM is a key network function in the 5G core network, its main role is to manage and store user's identity and subscription data. UDM is an important part of the 5G network architecture, it inherits and develops the functions of the home subscriber server (HSS) in the 4G network, and adds new features to adapt to the needs of the 5G network.

[0029] The PCF is a key network function in the 5G core network, and its main role is to manage and provide policy decisions in order to control network behavior and resource allocation. The PCF is responsible for formulating and implementing a series of policies that determine the Quality of Service (QoS) of User Equipment (UE), access control, and data flow processing methods, among others.

[0030] The UPF is a key network function in the 5G core network, and its main role is to handle data traffic in the user plane (i.e., data plane). The UPF is an important component of the 5G network architecture, and it provides data paths between the UE and the Data Network (DN), as well as performs functions related to data transmission.

[0031] The ePDG is a network component defined mainly in 3GPP standards, which is used to support interoperability between traditional 3G Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) networks and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). In other words, the ePDG is a bridge that allows user equipment in a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) network to seamlessly access an LTE / EPC network and enjoy the services provided by the latter. This is particularly important for operators who have deployed both 3G and 4G networks, as it allows users to move seamlessly between these networks without interrupting ongoing data sessions.

[0032] Message communication is a data transmission method in which message information is encapsulated into one or more complete data packets and sent from the source node to the target node through the network, containing complete address information and control information to ensure that data can be accurately transmitted from the sender to the receiver. Based on the 5G architecture described above, the process of related message communication transmission will be further described below.

[0033] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a process of UE1 accessing a packet communication network according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2, based on the 5G architecture described above, in a related packet communication transmission technology, after UE1 initiates a packet communication request, UE1 first establishes an IKE tunnel with ePDG through an IKE SA INIT (IKE Security Association INIT) message. This includes: UE sending an IKE AUTH Request (IKE Authentication Request) message to ePDG to perform identity authentication and key confirmation of UE1; and after identity authentication and key confirmation are passed, ePDG sends an IKE AUTH Response (IKE Authentication Response) message to UE1 to establish the IKE communication tunnel.

[0034] Here, the IKE SA INIT message is an initial message used to initialize an IKE Security Association (IKE SA) in the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol.

[0035] In addition, the IKE tunnel refers to a secure channel established through the IKE protocol, used for key exchange and security policy negotiation between two endpoints.

[0036] The IKE AUTH Request message is an important message in the IKE protocol used for identity authentication and key confirmation, which usually carries identity information of UE1, authentication data (such as a digital signature or a hash value), and key confirmation information. The IKE AUTH Response message is a reply confirmation information corresponding to the IKE AUTH Request message.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 2, after receiving the IKE AUTH Request message of UE1, ePDG sends an authentication protocol message (Diameter Extensible Authentication Protocol, Diameter EAP) message to an authentication, authorization, and accounting (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting, AAA) server to request authentication of the identity information of UE1. After the AAA server authenticates successfully, the AAA server sends a Diameter EAP_Success (authentication protocol success information) to ePDG to indicate that the authentication request is successful.

[0038] Next, the ePDG sends a Create Session Request message to the SMF to request the SMF to create a new data session for UE1 so that UE1 can access the packet communication network through the ePDG.

[0039] Then, after receiving the Create Session Request message of the ePDG, the SMF establishes a session data path between the ePDG and the UPF1 through a Packet Forwarding Control Protocol Session Establishment (PFCP Session Establishment) information, which includes that the SMF sends a PFCP Session Modification Request information to the UPF1 to update the data path on the UPF so as to adapt to the session communication between the UPF and the ePDG, and after receiving the PFCP Session Modification Request information of the SMF and modifying the related parameters of the data path, the UPF1 sends a PFCP Session Modification Response information to the SMF to notify the SMF that the change parameters in the PFCP Session Modification Request information received from the SMF have been successfully applied.

[0040] After receiving the PFCP Session Modification Response information of the UPF1, the SMF sends a Create Session Response message to the ePDG to confirm to the ePDG that the session link allocated to UE1 has been established.

[0041] After receiving the Create Session Response message of the SMF, the ePDG sends an IKE_AUTH Response message to UE1 to complete the construction of the IKE communication tunnel, so as to realize that UE1 accesses the packet communication network.

[0042] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of UE2 accessing the packet communication network according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, similar to the connection of UE1 to the packet communication network, UE2 accesses the packet communication network by establishing a session link with UPF2 through similar steps to those in FIG. 2.

[0043] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of real-time communication between UE1 and UE2 according to an embodiment of the present application. After UE1 and UE2 access the packet communication network as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, UE1 sends and receives voice packets to UPF1 through ePDG, and UE2 sends and receives voice packets to UPF2 through ePDG; then UPF1 and UPF2 realize the interaction of voice packets through IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) to realize the communication between UE1 and UE2.

[0044] The packet communication transmission method in the related art as described above with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, in the process of real-time packet communication transmission, the packet information sent from the UE needs to be forwarded by the ePDG, so that the ePDG bears a large amount of packet forwarding of packet communication network, so that the ePDG will become the performance bottleneck of the packet communication network; when the amount of packet information increases, the information transmission delay of the packet communication network is increased due to the limitation of the ePDG itself, and the risk of high information transmission delay in the packet communication network is increased.

[0045] Therefore, based on the 5G system architecture shown in FIG. 1, the packet forwarding method, the UPF selection method, the electronic device and the storage medium provided by the embodiments of the present application are provided to solve the technical problem of high transmission delay in packet communication transmission. Since the packet forwarding method and the UPF selection method provided by the embodiments of the present application involve the execution description of multiple application subjects in the 5G system architecture, the present solution will be described in the following steps of multiple execution subjects.

[0046] In an embodiment, when the UE responds to the packet forwarding, in order to further improve the transmission efficiency of the packet communication transmission and reduce the transmission delay in the process of packet communication transmission, a direct communication session link between the UE and the UPF needs to be constructed in advance through the ePDG and the SMF, so that in the real-time communication link of the UE, the packet information does not need to be forwarded through the ePDG, so as to effectively reduce the transmission delay of the UE in the real-time communication link. The process of how to construct the communication session link will be described in detail below.

[0047] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a packet forwarding method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can be applied to a user equipment (UE) and executed by the UE. As shown in FIG. 5, the method includes steps S110 to S140.

[0048] S110, sending a first message to an evolved packet data gateway (ePDG).

[0049] The step S110 will be described in detail below.

[0050] When the UE needs to access the packet communication network, the UE first sends a first message (i.e., an IKE_AUTH Request message) for UE identity authentication and key confirmation to an evolved packet data gateway (ePDG), wherein the first message carries identity information, authentication data, key confirmation information, and the like of the UE; so that the ePDG constructs a session link of the UE after authenticating the identity of the UE, so that the UE accesses the packet communication network. And the first message contains a communication capability identifier for representing that the UE can support control plane and media plane separation, to represent that the UE can adaptively modify the target address of the next node of the sent packet.

[0051] In an embodiment, the identity information of the UE includes identity information of the UE, such as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMES), and the like, or address information of the UE; the authentication data of the UE includes a random number generated by the UE for generating an authentication vector, an authentication token containing information such as a timestamp and a sequence number, and the like, or a Security Parameter Index (SPI) of the UE; and the key confirmation information of the UE includes information whether the key confirmation between the UE and the ePDG is within a valid time. It can be understood that the SPI is an identifier for uniquely identifying a security association, which defines a security policy between two endpoints, including an encryption algorithm, an authentication method, and the like.

[0052] FIG. 6 is a data structure diagram of a communication capability identifier provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6, the information element of the communication capability identifier is Control-plane and User-plane Separation (CU Separate), the data type of the communication capability identifier is boolean (Boolean), and the condition thereof can be adaptively selected according to actual application needs. The communication capability identifier is used to represent whether the UE supports control plane and media plane separation.

[0053] It can be understood that the control plane of the UE is responsible for signaling exchange and session management, such as establishing, modifying, and releasing a session; and the media plane of the UE is responsible for actual data transmission, such as voice, video, and data stream transmission. In the architecture of control plane and media plane separation, the UE can modify the target address of the next node of the sent packet, so as to directly send the packet to the target device.

[0054] Similar to the UE, in the architecture of control plane and media plane separation, the UPF can also achieve sending the sending message directly to the target device by modifying the target address of the next hop of the sending message.

[0055] When the ePDG receives the first message of the UE, the Diameter EAP (authentication request) message is generated according to the identity information and authentication data of the UE in the message, and the Diameter EAP message is sent to the AAA server for identity authentication of the UE. After the AAA server authenticates the Diameter EAP correctly, the AAA server sends the Diameter EAP_Success (authentication protocol success) message to the ePDG to indicate that the information authentication of the UE is successful.

[0056] In an embodiment, after receiving the Diameter EAP message, the AAA server parses the attribute-value pairs (AVPs) in the Diameter EAP message, which include the identity information and authentication data of the UE, etc.; then, the AAA server checks the integrity of the Diameter EAP message, such as ensuring that the message signature is correct and the source is legal; next, after checking and confirming that there is no error, the AAA server generates the Diameter EAP_Success message for indicating that the Diameter EAP authentication is correct.

[0057] After the ePDG receives the Diameter EAP_Success message of the AAA server, the direct forwarding identifier of the target user plane function UPF supporting the control plane and media plane separation is generated according to the communication capability identifier after determining that the UE can support the control plane and media plane separation. And the SPI of the UE is obtained, and then the fifth message (i.e. Create Session Request message) is generated based on the direct forwarding identifier, the SPI of the UE and the creation session information, and the fifth message is sent to the SMF, so that the SMF selects the target UPF which can also support the control plane and media plane separation from multiple UPFs according to the direct forwarding identifier, and generates the link modification parameter in the communication session link between the UE and the UPF according to the creation session information in the fifth message.

[0058] In an embodiment, the link modification parameter includes QoS parameter, address information of the UE, end point identifier of the new communication session link, etc.

[0059] Figure 7 is a data structure diagram of directly forwarding an identifier and SPI of a UE according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 7, the information element of the directly forwarding identifier is CUSeparate, the data type of the directly forwarding identifier is boolean, and the condition thereof can be adaptively selected according to actual application requirements. The directly forwarding identifier is used to indicate whether the selected UPF supports control plane and media plane separation. In addition, the information element of the SPI of the UE is SPI, the data type of the SPI of the UE is int, and the condition thereof can be adaptively selected according to actual application requirements. The SPI of the UE is used to indicate the SPI information of the UE.

[0060] In an embodiment, after the SMF receives the fifth message sent by the ePDG, a method for selecting a UPF is performed. Figure 8 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a UPF according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can be applied to a session management function (SMF) and is performed by the SMF. As shown in Figure 8, the method includes the following steps S210 to S220.

[0061] S210, receiving the fifth message sent by the ePDG.

[0062] S220, determining a target UPF supporting control plane and media plane separation according to the directly forwarding identifier, and sending a third message to the target UPF.

[0063] The steps S210 to S220 are described in detail as follows.

[0064] In an embodiment, after receiving the fifth message (i.e., the Create Session Request message) sent by the ePDG, the SMF acquires the address information of the UE, the SPI of the UE, the directly forwarding identifier, and the link modification parameter from the fifth message. Next, the SMF selects a UPF that can support control plane and media plane separation and has available communication resources, i.e., a UPF that can establish a communication session link with the UE at the current time, as the target UPF from multiple UPFs according to the directly forwarding identifier used to indicate the need to select a UPF supporting control plane and media plane separation.

[0065] Then, the SMF generates a third message (i.e., a PFCP Session Establishment message) according to the address information of the UE, the SPI of the UE, the direct forwarding identifier, and the link modification parameter, and sends the third message to a selected target UPF, so that the target UPF updates a data path according to the link modification parameter in the third message to adapt to session communication between the UE and the UPF, and directly sends packet information to the UE according to the direct forwarding identifier in a subsequent real-time conversation link, so as to avoid the packet information needing to be forwarded through the ePDG, thereby effectively reducing the transmission delay of packet communication transmission in the real-time conversation link.

[0066] FIG. 9 is a data structure diagram of a direct forwarding identifier, address information of a UE, a port number, and an SPI provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 9, in the third message, the information element of the direct forwarding identifier is forward ePDG Flg, the data type of the direct forwarding identifier is boolean (Boolean), and the condition thereof can be adaptively selected according to actual application needs. The direct forwarding identifier is used to indicate whether the selected UPF supports control plane and media plane separation. In addition, the information element of the address information of the UE is IP, the data type of the address information of the UE is IPV4 / IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 4 / Internet Protocol version 6) type, and the condition thereof can be adaptively selected according to actual application needs. The address information of the UE is used to indicate the IP address information of the UE. The information element of the port number of the UE is Port, the data type of the port number of the UE is int, and the condition thereof can be adaptively selected according to actual application needs. The port number of the UE is used to indicate the port number information of the UE. The information element of the SPI of the UE is SPI, the data type of the SPI of the UE is int, and the condition thereof can be adaptively selected according to actual application needs. The SPI of the UE is used to indicate the SPI information of the UE.

[0067] In an embodiment, after the SMF sends the third message to the target UPF, the UPF corresponding to the third message receives and executes another packet forwarding method. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of another packet forwarding method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method can be applied to a user plane function UPF and executed by the UPF. As shown in FIG. 10, the method includes steps S310 to S330.

[0068] S310, receiving a third message sent by a session management function SMF.

[0069] The step S310 is described in detail as follows.

[0070] In an embodiment, after the SMF sends the third message to the target UPF, the UPF corresponding to the target UPF will receive the third message, and then obtain the address information of the UE, the SPI of the UE, the direct forwarding identifier and the link modification parameter carried in the third message. Next, the relevant parameters in the data path of the UPF are updated and modified according to the link modification parameter, so as to adapt to the session communication between the UE and the UPF.

[0071] After the UPF receives the third message and confirms the update and modification of the relevant parameters in the data path, in order to build a reliable and secure session communication link between the UE and the UPF, the UPF also needs to perform the following step S311.

[0072] Step S311, sending a fourth message carrying the SPI of the UPF to the SMF.

[0073] The step S311 is described in detail as follows.

[0074] In an embodiment, after the UPF receives the third message, confirms that the UPF needs to build a reliable and secure session communication link with the UE for the direct interaction of packet information between the two, and updates and modifies the relevant parameters in the data path of the UPF according to the link modification parameter, the UPF generates a fourth message carrying its own SPI, and sends the fourth message (i.e. PFCP Session Modification Response message) to the SMF, to notify the SMF that the link modification parameter in the third message received from the SMF has been successfully applied; and the UPF's SPI is forwarded to the UE through the SMF, so that in the real-time call link, the UE can take the UPF's SPI as the identifier of the first target packet sent, so that after the UPF receives the first target packet, the UPF's SPI in the first target packet explicitly indicates that the first target packet is a secure and reliable packet information sent by the UE, thereby improving the reliability and security of the packet forwarding method provided by the present application.

[0075] After the UPF sends the fourth message to the SMF, in order to build a reliable and secure session communication link between the UE and the UPF, the SMF also needs to perform the following steps S230 to S240.

[0076] Step S230, receiving the fourth message sent by the target UPF.

[0077] Step S240, sending a sixth message carrying the SPI of the target UPF to the ePDG.

[0078] The steps S230 to S240 are described in detail as follows.

[0079] In an embodiment, after the SMF receives the fourth message sent by the target UPF and carrying the SPI of the target UPF, the SMF confirms from the fourth message that the SMF has successfully applied the link modification parameters in the third message received from the SMF, thereby confirming that the session communication link between the UE and the target UPF has been established. At this time, the SMF generates a sixth message (Create Session Response message) carrying the address information of the target UPF and the SPI of the target UPF, and sends the sixth message to the ePDG to confirm to the ePDG that the session communication link between the UE and the target UPF has been established.

[0080] In an embodiment, after the ePDG receives the sixth message, the ePDG confirms from the sixth message that the session communication link between the UE and the target UPF has been established, and extracts the address information of the target UPF and the SPI of the target UPF from the sixth message. Next, the ePDG generates a second message (i.e. IKE_AUTH Response message) carrying the address information of the target UPF and the SPI of the target UPF, and sends the second message to the UE to inform the UE that the construction of the session communication link between the UE and the target UPF is completed, and direct real-time communication between the UE and the target UPF can be performed.

[0081] After the ePDG sends the second message to the UE, the UE will further perform the following step S120 to complete the construction process of the session communication link between the UE and the target UPF, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0082] Step S120, receiving the second message sent by the ePDG.

[0083] The step S120 is described in detail as follows.

[0084] In an embodiment, after the UE receives the second message sent by the ePDG, the UE will confirm from the second message that the construction of the session communication link between the UE and the target UPF is completed, and extract the address information of the target UPF and the SPI from the second message.

[0085] The steps S110-S120 performed by the UE, the steps S210-S230 and S240 performed by the target UPF, and the steps S310-S320 and S330 performed by the SMF complete the construction of the session communication link between the UE and the target UPF, and successfully send the direct forwarding identifier generated based on the UE-based communication capability identifier to the target UPF, while sending the address information and SPI of the UE to the target UPF, and sending the address information and SPI of the target UPF to the UE; so that the UE and the target UPF can directly and securely communicate packets with each other by using the address information and SPI of each other without packet forwarding through the ePDG in subsequent real-time session communication, so as to effectively reduce the communication transmission delay in the packet communication transmission process while ensuring secure and reliable communication in the packet communication transmission process of the packet forwarding method and the UPF selection method provided in the present application.

[0086] In an embodiment, after the construction of the session communication link between the UE and the target UPF is completed, the UE will further perform steps S130 and S140 to realize the information forwarding of the first target packet, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0087] Step S130: generating a first target packet according to the SPI of the target UPF.

[0088] Step S140: directly forwarding the first target packet to the target UPF based on the address information of the target UPF.

[0089] The steps S130 and S140 will be described in detail below.

[0090] In an embodiment, after the construction of the session communication link between the UE and the target UPF is completed, the UE generates a first target packet based on the information content of the first target information and the SPI of the target UPF in response to the forwarding of the first target information, and directly forwards the first target packet to the target UPF without the packet information forwarding process through the ePDG based on the address information of the target UPF, so as to effectively reduce the communication transmission delay in the packet communication transmission process.

[0091] In an embodiment, in order to further improve the security of direct communication between the UE and the UPF, when the UE generates the first target message based on the information content of the first target information and the SPI of the target UPF, the UE determines the security association used by the target UPF according to the SPI of the target UPF, and encrypts the first target information according to the key and encryption algorithm corresponding to the security association, and generates the first target message after encryption, and then directly forwards the first target message to the target UPF based on the address information of the target UPF.

[0092] In an embodiment, the encryption algorithm and decryption algorithm corresponding to the security association can be a symmetric encryption algorithm, such as the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm; or an asymmetric encryption algorithm, such as the Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) algorithm. In this embodiment, the encryption and decryption algorithms and keys are not limited too much, and different keys and encryption and decryption algorithms can be set according to different scenarios, without affecting the implementation of the scheme.

[0093] In an embodiment, when the UE directly forwards the first target message to the target UPF based on the address information of the target UPF, the UE performs steps S141 to S142.

[0094] S141, modifying the first message sending address of the UE according to the address information of the target UPF.

[0095] S142, directly forwarding the first target message to the target UPF based on the modified first message sending address.

[0096] The steps S141 to S142 are described in detail below.

[0097] In an embodiment, as described in the related description of step S110 above, the UE can support control plane and media plane separation, so the UE can modify the first message sending address (i.e. the next hop node address after sending the first target message) of the first target message to the address information of the target UPF when sending the first target message. Then based on the modified first message sending address, the first target message is directly forwarded to the target UPF through the session communication link between the UE and the target UPF.

[0098] In an embodiment, after receiving the first target message, the UPF corresponding to the target UPF verifies and decrypts the first target message according to the SPI of the target UPF carried in the first target message. That is, after receiving the first target message, the UPF verifies the SPI of the target UPF carried in the first target message with its own SPI, and when the SPI of the target UPF carried in the first target message matches its own SPI, it is confirmed that the first target message is directly forwarded to the target UPF itself by the UE. Next, the target UPF finds the corresponding security association through the SPI, and uses the key and decryption algorithm corresponding to the security association to decode the first message information to obtain the first target information, thereby further improving the security and reliability of the message forwarding process.

[0099] In an embodiment, similar to the UE, after the construction of the session communication link between the UE and the target UPF is completed, the UPF corresponding to the target UPF further performs steps S320 to S330, as shown in FIG. 10.

[0100] Step S320, generating a second target message according to the SPI of the UE.

[0101] Step S330, directly forwarding the second target message to the UE according to the direct forwarding identifier and the address information of the UE.

[0102] The steps S320 to S330 are described in detail below.

[0103] In an embodiment, after the construction of the session communication link between the UE and the target UPF is completed, the UPF corresponding to the target UPF generates a second target message based on the information content of the second target information and the SPI of the UE in response to the forwarding of the second target information, and directly forwards the second target message to the UE without the message information forwarding process through the ePDG based on the direct forwarding identifier and the address information of the UE, thereby effectively reducing the communication transmission delay in the message communication transmission process.

[0104] In an embodiment, the second target information can be information directly sent by the target interaction terminal in communication with the UE, or can be information corresponding to the first target information, that is, after receiving the first target message, the UPF forwards the first target message to the target interaction terminal through the IMS, and then the target interaction terminal responds to the first target message and sends feedback information, and the UPF obtains the second target information by returning the feedback information to the UPF through the IMS.

[0105] In an embodiment, the target interaction end can be various devices or systems receiving data or signals, such as personal computers, mobile devices, servers, network devices, Internet of Things devices, various embedded systems, and the like.

[0106] In an embodiment, when the UPF generates the second target message based on the information content of the second target information and the SPI of the UE, in order to further improve the security of the direct communication between the UE and the UPF, the UPF corresponding to the target UPF will determine the security association used by the UE according to the SPI of the UE, and encrypt the second target information according to the key and encryption algorithm corresponding to the security association, and generate the second target message after encryption, and then directly forward the second target message to the UE based on the address information of the UE.

[0107] In an embodiment, when the UPF directly forwards the second target message to the UE according to the direct forwarding identifier and the address information of the UE, it performs steps S141 to S142.

[0108] S331, modifying the second message sending address of the UPF according to the direct forwarding identifier and the address of the UE.

[0109] S332, directly forwarding the second target message to the UE based on the modified second message sending address.

[0110] The steps S331 and S332 are described in detail below.

[0111] In an embodiment, as described in the related description of step S310 above, the UPF corresponding to the target UPF determined according to the direct forwarding identifier can support control plane and media plane separation; and according to the indicative meaning of the direct forwarding identifier, the UPF can determine that the second target message needs to be directly forwarded to the UE. Therefore, the UPF can modify the second message sending address (i.e. the next hop node address after sending the second target message) of the second target message to the address information of the UE when sending the second target message. Then based on the modified second message sending address, the second target message is directly forwarded to the UE through the constructed session communication link between the UE and the target UPF.

[0112] In an embodiment, after the target UPF directly forwards the second target message to the UE, the UE will further perform the following steps S150 and S160 to receive the second target information in the second target message.

[0113] S150, receiving the second target message directly forwarded by the target UPF.

[0114] S160, verifying and decrypting the second target message using the SPI of the UE.

[0115] The steps S150 and S160 are described in detail as follows.

[0116] In an embodiment, after receiving the second target packet, the UE verifies and decrypts the second target packet according to the SPI of the UE carried in the second target packet. That is, after receiving the second target packet, the UE verifies the SPI of the UE carried in the second target packet with the SPI of the UE itself, and when the SPI of the UE carried in the second target packet matches the SPI of the UE itself, it is confirmed that the second target packet is directly forwarded to the UE itself by the UPF. Then, the UE finds the corresponding security association through the SPI, and uses the key and decryption algorithm corresponding to the security association to decode the second packet information to obtain the second target information, thereby further improving the security and reliability of the packet forwarding process.

[0117] FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a packet information forwarding method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 11, the method includes the following steps.

[0118] In step S1100, the UE sends an IKE_AUTH Request message to the ePDG, carrying an identifier of support for control plane and media plane separation. The present application needs to add a field to carry the capability identifier, which is used for the ePDG to judge the capability of the UE (corresponding to step S110 described above).

[0119] In step S1200, the ePDG sends a Diameter EAP message to the AAA to request authentication.

[0120] In step S1300, the AAA sends a Diameter EAP_Success to the ePDG, indicating that the authentication request is successful.

[0121] In step S1400, the ePDG sends a Create Session Request message to the SMF, carrying the IP address and port number of the UE. If the UE supports control plane and media plane separation, it carries an identifier of support for UPF direct packet forwarding and the SPI (identifier) of the UE. The present application needs to add a field to carry the capability identifier and the SPI of the UE, which is used for the SMF to judge the capability of the UE (corresponding to step S210 described above).

[0122] In step S1500, after selecting a UPF supporting separation capability, the SMF sends a PFCP Session Modification Request to the UPF, carrying the identifier of direct packet forwarding, the IP and port number of the UE, and the SPI of the UE. The present application needs to add a field in the message, which is used for the content required by packet forwarding (corresponding to step S220 and step S310 described above).

[0123] Step S1600, the UPF sends a PFCP Session Modification Response to the SMF. Carrying the SPI of the UPF. The present application needs to add a field in the message to carry the SPI of the UPF, which is the same as the SPI field type in Table 3 (corresponding to the above step S230), to establish a PFCP Session Establishment information with the UPF through step 1500 and step 1600.

[0124] Step S1700, the SMF sends a Create Session Response to the ePDG, carrying the address of the UPF, the SPI of the UPF. The present application needs to add a field in the message to carry the SPI of the UPF, which is the same as the SPI field type in Table 3 (corresponding to the above step S240).

[0125] Step S1800, the ePDG sends an IKE_AUTH Response message to the UE. Carrying the address and SPI of the UPF. The present application needs to add a field in the message to carry the SPI of the UPF, which is the same as the address, SPI field type in Table 3 (corresponding to the above step S120), to establish an IKE tunnel between the UE and the ePDG through the IKE_SA_INIT message through step S1100 and step S1800.

[0126] Step S2000, the UE sends a first target message to the UPF. The destination IP is the address and SPI of the UPF (corresponding to the above step S140).

[0127] Step S2100, the UPF finds the corresponding bearer according to the SPI to forward the message.

[0128] Step S2200, the UPF sends a second target message to the UE. The destination address is the IP and port number of the UE, and the SPI is the SPI of the UE (corresponding to the above step S330).

[0129] Up to now, the message information is directly forwarded between the UE and the UPF.

[0130] In an embodiment, when the UE communicates messages through an AP (Access Point, hybrid access point), the AP or the router connected to the AP allocates the address information of the UE to the UE, so that the UE can communicate or access the Internet according to the address information within the local area network, which includes the above-mentioned message communication.

[0131] When the UE switches from the original AP to the new AP in the process of constructing the session communication link with the target UPF and directly communicating packets with the target UPF through the above steps, the UE will perform the following steps S170 and S180 to continue to perform packet communication.

[0132] S170, in response to switching the access point AP, determining new address information of the UE according to the new access AP.

[0133] S180, sending an address update message to the ePDG.

[0134] The following describes steps S170 to S180 in detail.

[0135] In an embodiment, when the UE switches from the original AP to the new access AP in response to switching the access point AP in the process of directly communicating packets with the target UPF, the UE determines the new address information allocated to the UE by the new access AP. Next, in order to ensure that the packet communication between the UE and the target UPF continues, the UE will send an address update message to the ePDG, that is, an IKE_information Reuest message carrying IKEV2_UPDATE_SA_ADDRESSES (IKEv2 update security association address), to instruct the ePDG to send the new address information of the UE to the target UPF.

[0136] In an embodiment, after receiving the address update information, the ePDG sends a Modify Bearer Request message carrying the new address information of the UE and the port number to the SMF, to inform the SMF that the address information of the UE has changed, and to send the new address information of the UE to the target UPF and adaptively modify the related parameters of the data path of the target UPF.

[0137] In an embodiment, after receiving the Modify Bearer Request message, the SMF generates a PFCP Session Modification Request message based on the new address information of the UE therein, the PFCP Session Modification Request message carrying the new address information of the UE and the port number, and then the SMF sends the PFCP Session Modification Request message to the target UPF to inform the target UPF that the address information of the UE has changed.

[0138] In an embodiment, after the target UPF sends the PFCP Session Modification Request message carrying the new address information of the UE to the target UPF, the UPF corresponding to the target UPF will perform the following steps S340 and S350 to maintain the direct packet communication with the UE.

[0139] S340, receiving the new address information of the UE sent by the SMF.

[0140] S350, forwarding the third target packet directly to the UE according to the new address information of the UE.

[0141] The steps S340 to S350 are described in detail as follows.

[0142] In an embodiment, when the UPF corresponding to the target UPF receives the PFCP Session Modification Request message sent by the SMF carrying the new address information of the UE and the port number, the UPF will obtain the new address information of the UE and the port number therefrom, and adaptively modify the related parameters of the data path of the target UPF according to the PFCP Session Modification Request message. Then, the UPF sends a PFCP Session Modification Response message to the SMF to notify the SMF that the change parameters in the PFCP Session Modification Request information received from the SMF have been successfully applied.

[0143] After the SMF receives the PFCP Session Modification Request information sent by the UPF corresponding to the target UPF, the SMF sends a Modify Bearer Response message to the ePDG to confirm to the ePDG that the target UPF has adaptively modified the related parameters of the data path of the target UPF.

[0144] Next, the target UPF forwards the third target packet directly to the UE according to the new address information of the UE, similar to the step 330 described above, and receives the first target packet sent by the UE according to the new address information of the UE, thereby ensuring the reliability and stability in the direct packet forwarding communication process between the UE and the target UPF. It can be understood that the third target packet is similar to the second target packet, and both are direct forwarding packets sent by the target UPF to the UE.

[0145] FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a message forwarding process of a UE in response to switching an AP according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 12, in the process of the UE communicating messages with the target UPF through the AP1 (as shown in FIG. 11), the process of responding to switching to the AP2 includes the following steps.

[0146] S3100, the UE forwards a first target message to the UPF through the AP1, wherein the first message sending address of the first target message is the address information of the UPF, and the SPI is the SPI of the UPF.

[0147] S3200, the UPF interacts with the IMS a target message.

[0148] S3300, the UPF sends a second target message through the AP1, wherein the second message sending address of the second target message is the address information of the UE, and the SPI is the SPI of the UE.

[0149] S3400, the AP1 sends the second target message to the UE.

[0150] Then the terminal moves to the AP2 and initiates an access point switching process.

[0151] S4100, the UE sends an IKE_information Request message to the ePDG, carrying IKEV2_UPDATE_SA_ADDRESSES, indicating the ePDG to send the new address information of the UE to the UPF.

[0152] S4200, the ePDG sends an IKE_information Response message to the UE.

[0153] S4300, the ePDG sends a Modify Bearer Request to the SMF, carrying the new address information of the UE and the port number.

[0154] S4400, the SMF sends a PFCP Session Modification Request to the UPF, carrying the new address information of the UE and the port number.

[0155] S4500, the UPF sends a PFCP Session Modification Response to the SMF.

[0156] S4600, the SMF sends a Modify Bearer Response to the EPDG.

[0157] S5000, the UE sends a first target message to the AP2, wherein the first message sending address of the first target message is the address information of the UPF, and the SPI is the SPI of the UPF.

[0158] S5100, the AP2 forwards the first target message to the UPF.

[0159] S5200, the UPF interacts with the target message of the IMS.

[0160] S5300, the UPF sends the second target message to the AP2, wherein the second message sending address of the second target message is the new address information of the UE, and the SPI is the SPI of the UE.

[0161] S5400, the AP2 sends the second target message to the UE.

[0162] So far, in the process of direct message communication between the UE and the UPF, after the AP switching process, the new address information of the UE is sent to the target UPF through the ePDG and the SMF, and the target UPF is informed to update the related parameters of the communication session link between the UE and the target UPF, so as to ensure the direct message communication between the UE and the target UPF, and further to ensure the reduction of transmission delay in the process of message communication of the UE, and to improve the reliability of the message forwarding method provided by the present application.

[0163] The embodiments of the present application utilize the characteristics that the UE and the UPF supporting the separation of control plane and media plane can modify the address information of the next node of the message, and through the process of constructing the communication session link between the UE and the UPF, the ePDG sends the communication capability identifier for identifying that the UE can support the separation of control plane and media plane to the SMF, so that the SMF selects the target UPF which can also support the separation of control plane and media plane, and sends the address information and SPI of the UE to the target UPF, and sends the address information and SPI of the target UPF to the UE. After the communication session link between the UE and the target UPF is constructed, the UE can directly forward the first target message to the target UPF according to the address information and SPI of the UPF and be forwarded to the target interaction end of the first target message by the target UPF; at the same time, the target UPF can directly forward the second target message to the UE according to the address information and SPI of the UE, so that in the process of real-time message session transmission of the first target message and the second target message, it is not necessary to pass through the forwarding of the ePDG, so as to avoid the performance problem of message information transmission delay caused by the limitation of the ePDG device itself, and further effectively reduce the transmission delay in the process of message transmission.

[0164] The embodiments of the present application also provide an electronic device, as shown in Figure 13, the electronic device 1300 comprises:

[0165] one or more processors 1310;

[0166] a memory 1320 having one or more programs stored thereon, which, when executed by the one or more processors 1310, cause the one or more processors 1310 to implement the packet forwarding method provided by any one of the embodiments of the present application.

[0167] The memory 1320 is a non-transitory network system and can be used to store non-transitory software programs and non-transitory computer executable programs. In addition, the memory 1320 can include a high-speed random access memory and can also include a non-transitory memory such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, a flash memory device, or other non-transitory solid-state memory device. In some embodiments, the memory 1320 can include a memory 1320 remotely arranged with respect to the processor 1310, and these remote memories 1320 can be connected to the processor 1310 through a network. Examples of the above-mentioned network include but are not limited to the Internet, an intranet, a local area network, a mobile communication network, and a combination thereof.

[0168] The memory 1320 can be implemented in the form of a read-only memory (ROM), a static storage device, a dynamic storage device, or a random access memory (RAM). The memory 1320 can store an operating system and other application programs. When the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are implemented by software or firmware, the related program codes are stored in the memory 1320 and are called and executed by the processor 1310 to implement the packet forwarding method of the embodiments of the present application.

[0169] The processor 1310 can be implemented in the form of a general-purpose CPU (Central Processing Unit), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits, etc., for executing related programs to implement the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0170] In some embodiments, the electronic device further includes:

[0171] An input / output interface for realizing information input and output;

[0172] A communication interface for realizing communication interaction between the device and other devices, which can realize communication through wired means (such as USB, network cable, etc.) or wireless means (such as mobile network, WIFI, Bluetooth, etc.);

[0173] A bus for transmitting information between various components (such as the processor 1310, the memory 1320, the input / output interface, and the communication interface) of the device;

[0174] The processor 1310, the memory 1320, the input / output interface, and the communication interface can be connected to each other through a bus to communicate with each other inside the device.

[0175] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores computer executable instructions, and the computer executable instructions are used for executing the packet forwarding method provided by any one of the embodiments of the present application.

[0176] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which comprises a computer program or computer instructions, and the computer program or computer instructions are stored in a computer readable storage medium, a processor of a computer device reads the computer program or computer instructions from the computer readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer program or computer instructions, so that the computer device executes the packet forwarding method provided by any one of the embodiments of the present application.

[0177] According to the scheme implemented by the present application, when the UE is to be connected into the packet communication network, the UE sends the communication capability identifier of the UE to the ePDG, so as to indicate to the ePDG that the UE can support the separation of the control plane and the media plane. The ePDG selects a target UPF which can also support the separation of the control plane and the media plane through the SMF. The UE can modify the address information of the next node of the packet information by using the characteristic that the UE supporting the separation of the control plane and the media plane. In the real-time call link of receiving the address information and the SPI of the target UPF, the UE can further directly send the first target packet to the target UPF by taking the address information and the SPI of the target UPF as the identifier, so as to avoid forwarding the packet information in the actual call through the ePDG, and effectively reduce the transmission delay in the packet communication transmission.

[0178] The system architecture and the application scenario described in the embodiments of the present application are used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. It can be known by those skilled in the art that, with the evolution of the system architecture and the appearance of new application scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0179] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be completed by a computer program instructing relevant hardware, and the computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed, the processes of the above-mentioned embodiments of the methods can be included. Any reference to memory, storage, databases, or other media in this application is intended to include non-volatile and / or volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory. As an illustration but not limitation, RAM is available in many forms, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link (Synchlink) DRAM (SLDRAM), memory bus (Rambus) direct RAM (RDRAM), direct memory bus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), and memory bus dynamic RAM (RDRAM), etc.

[0180] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or some steps of the above-mentioned methods and systems can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware and appropriate combinations thereof. Some or all physical components can be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit, a digital signal processor or a microprocessor, or as hardware, or as an integrated circuit, such as an application specific integrated circuit. Such software can be distributed on a computer readable medium, which can include computer storage media (or non-transitory media) and communication media (or transitory media). As known to those skilled in the art, the term computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired information and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, those skilled in the art know that communication media generally includes computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in modulated data signals such as carrier waves or other transmission mechanisms, and can include any information delivery medium.

[0181] It should be understood that, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, if there is description to "first", "second" and the like, it is only for the purpose of distinguishing technical features, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features or the sequence of the indicated technical features. "At least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. The "and / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean that A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. Wherein A, B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents that the associated objects before and after it are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" and the like means any group of these items, including any group of single items or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b and c can mean: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, wherein a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0182] In addition, the technical features involved in each embodiment described in the present application can be combined with each other as long as there is no conflict.

[0183] The above describes some embodiments of the present application with reference to the drawings, and does not limit the scope of the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement and improvement made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and essence of the present application shall be within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A message forwarding method, applied to a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: sending a first message to an evolved packet data gateway (ePDG), the first message carrying a communication capability identifier of the UE, the communication capability identifier indicating that the UE supports control plane and media plane separation; receiving a second message sent by the ePDG, the second message carrying address information of a target user plane function (UPF) and a security parameter index (SPI), the target UPF supporting control plane and media plane separation; generating a first target message according to the SPI of the target UPF; directly forwarding the first target message to the target UPF based on the address information of the target UPF.

2. The packet forwarding method of claim 1, wherein, The directly forwarding the first target message to the target UPF based on the address information of the target UPF comprises: modifying a first message sending address of the UE according to the address information of the target UPF; directly forwarding the first target message to the target UPF based on the modified first message sending address.

3. The packet forwarding method of claim 1, wherein, After the directly forwarding the first target message to the target UPF, the method further comprises: receiving a second target message directly forwarded by the target UPF, the second target message carrying the SPI of the UE; verifying and decrypting the second target message by using the SPI of the UE.

4. The packet forwarding method of claim 1, wherein, After the directly forwarding the first target message to the target UPF, the method further comprises: in response to switching an access point (AP), determining new address information of the UE according to a new access AP; sending an address update message to the ePDG, the address update message indicating that the ePDG sends the new address information of the UE to the target UPF.

5. A method of forwarding a packet, wherein, The method is applied to a UPF, and the method comprises: receiving a third message sent by a session management function (SMF), the third message carrying address information of a UE, an SPI and a direct forwarding identifier, the direct forwarding identifier being generated according to a communication capability identifier of the UE, the communication capability identifier indicating that the UE supports control plane and media plane separation; generating a second target message according to the SPI of the UE; directly forwarding the second target message to the UE according to the direct forwarding identifier and the address information of the UE.

6. The packet forwarding method of claim 5, wherein, After the receiving the third message sent by the SMF, the method further comprises: sending a fourth message carrying the SPI of the UPF to the SMF.

7. The packet forwarding method of claim 5, wherein, The directly forwarding the second target message to the UE according to the direct forwarding identifier and the address information of the UE comprises: modifying a second message sending address of the UPF according to the direct forwarding identifier and the address of the UE; directly forwarding the second target message to the UE based on the modified second message sending address.

8. The packet forwarding method of claim 5, wherein, After the directly forwarding the second target message to the UE, the method further comprises: receiving new address information of the UE sent by the SMF, the new address information of the UE being obtained by the UE in response to switching an access point (AP). According to the new address information of the UE, the third target message is directly forwarded to the UE.

9. A method of selecting a UPF, wherein, The method is applied to an SMF, and the method comprises: receiving a fifth message sent by an ePDG, wherein the fifth message carries address information of the UE and a direct forwarding identifier, and the direct forwarding identifier is generated according to a communication capability identifier of the UE, and the communication capability identifier represents that the UE supports separation of a control plane and a media plane; determining a target UPF supporting separation of a control plane and a media plane according to the direct forwarding identifier, and sending a third message to the target UPF, wherein the third message carries address information of the UE, an SPI of the UE, and the direct forwarding identifier, the SPI of the UE is used to generate a second target message, and the direct forwarding identifier is used to instruct the target UPF to directly forward the second target message to the UE according to the address information of the UE.

10. A method of selecting a UPF according to claim 9, wherein, After the step of determining the target UPF supporting separation of a control plane and a media plane according to the direct forwarding identifier, and sending the third message to the target UPF, the method further comprises: receiving a fourth message sent by the target UPF, wherein the fourth message comprises an SPI of the target UPF; sending a sixth message carrying the SPI of the target UPF to the ePDG.

11. An electronic device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the message forwarding method in any one of claims 1 to 4, or the message forwarding method in any one of claims 5 to 8, or the UPF selecting method in any one of claims 9 to 10 when executing the computer program.

12. A computer readable storage medium, wherein a computer program is stored on the computer readable storage medium, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the message forwarding method in any one of claims 1 to 4, or the message forwarding method in any one of claims 5 to 8, or the UPF selecting method in any one of claims 9 to 10.

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